CHICAGO: Catholic religious order school Sisters of Notre Dame is searching for a communications co-ordinator to head its recruitment efforts.

The newly-created position also includes responsibility for internal communications within the 5,000-member order and revamping the nuns' website to support recruitment efforts, said Sister Maureen McGoey, director of the order's North American Major Area Co-ordinating Center in Chicago.

Last September the order established the centre to draw together the outreach efforts of its eight provinces in North America and others in Guam and Japan.

The provinces have communications programmes but have done nothing on a national or international level in the past. The communications co-ordinator will develop a unified strategy.

'Today, young women who are interested in religious life very often get their first contact through technology,' said McGoey.